WORLD> America
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WORLD> America
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Wall Street is down after home sales report
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-05-24 00:09 NEW YORK -- Stocks resumed their steep slide Friday as investors digested a better-than-expected home sales report that still showed continued weakness, and as traders squared their portfolios ahead of the three-day holiday weekend. The Dow Jones industrials fell more than 100 points.
The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell 1 percent last month. That's better than analysts' forecast of a 1.6 percent decline, but the news was still unwelcome to a market nervous about the continuing housing slump and the impact of the rising price of oil on consumers. Meanwhile, rising oil prices also weighed on stocks. A barrel of oil is up $1.74 at $132.55 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices are set for a third weekly gain after surging to a record $135.09 a barrel on Thursday. Investors are buying on the belief that supply can't keep up with growing global demand from countries like China and India. "Crude oil is still weighing on the market and particularly because this is a traditional driving holiday," said Chris Orndorff, director of equity strategy at Payden & Rygel in Los Angeles. Many traders took Friday off before the long holiday weekend, and lighter volume contributed to more volatile movements in stocks and the major indexes. In late morning trading, the Dow fell 142.08, or 1.13 percent, to 12,483.54. Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 19.21, or 1.38 percent, to 1,375.14, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 31.02, or 1.26 percent, to 2,433.56. The economic fallout from higher energy prices remained Wall Street's focus this week. Stocks rose moderately Thursday after two sessions of steep declines, with the Dow recording its biggest two-day loss since late February. |
